Important Conversations

Summary: Henry and Jack are home from college, and JJ and Aaron couldn't be more excited. Henry has some big news for his dad, so the two sit down for a father-son chat.

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and its characters don't belong to me…even if I sincerely wish they did.

Author's Note: This is just a little story I've had in my head for a while. There's a potential second chapter that I might write that would focus on an interaction between JJ and Jack. I haven't completely decided on it, part of me is developing one, part of me wants to leave this just with Aaron and Henry. Anyways, I really hope you enjoy it, thanks for reading, and if you feel so inclined, I would love your feedback (good or bad)!

"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons." –Johann Schiller

"Hey Mom!" JJ immediately rushed out of the bedroom, leaving the rest of the laundry for later at the sound of her two boys finally getting home with their dad from the airport. The two hours she had been anxiously waiting since her husband had left for the airport had seemed to last for days. She realized now that it didn't matter if it made her appear clingy; next time the boys were scheduled home, she would definitely be going to the airport with her husband.

She paused briefly at the top of the stairs, a small smile tugging at her lips as she rolled her eyes at the amount of laundry her two boys had brought home from their respective colleges. She should have gotten used to it by now, considering her oldest was going to be graduating in a few months. But with her youngest finally at college for his freshman year, the laundry was always in abundance when her boys came to visit.

Her husband was currently trying to get the boys to take their things to the room and not "leave the mess for your mom to clean up, come on guys!" but only the youngest was paying any attention. Her oldest, who had the best intuitive instincts anyone had ever seen, never missed anything and noticed the subtle change in the room. His eyes looked around before landing on his mom at the top of the stairs. "Hey Mom!"

JJ's entire face lit up as she took her son in; with it being his senior year he had been studying and working so hard he hadn't been able to come home in five months. She may have been sending him off to school for the past four years, but it had never taken more than two or three months for him to get home. She rushed down the stairs as he met her at the bottom. She flung her arms around her son, holding him tightly as he picked her up and spun her around.

"Oh Jack, it's so good to have you home!" Jack laughed at his mom's excitement before setting her back down and planting on a big kiss on her cheek. He had been just as excited to come home as she was. He hated being away from his parents and little brother for such a long time, but now he got to spend the next week at home with just his family.

"It's good to be home Mom. Sorry about all the laundry. Dad already gave us a lecture about in the car., complete with glare and all." Jack rubbed the back of his head where his father had hit him. "It's true Dad! You'd think after moving to Director and keeping you from the UNSUBS that you'd have stopped glaring by now. Ow, Dad!" JJ laughed as her husband pushed around his oldest, the house finally sounding like normal now that her boys were home.

"Yeah, Dad, sorry to side with Jack but I think your glare is getting worse with old age. Don't attack me, I have to hug Mom!" Henry managed to side-step the assault as he gathered his mom into a tight hug, giving her a kiss on the cheek just like Jack had. "Hi Mom."

"Hi sweetheart, glad to be home?" Henry nodded with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah it's nice to be home for a while." JJ smiled and hugged her youngest again. College was still too new of an experience for Henry to get as excited as Jack about coming home, but she was glad he was loving college life as much as Jack had. Her boys had truly thrived at school and it made JJ happier than anything in her life that they were doing so incredibly well.

Aaron finally managed to make his way over to his wife. He scooped her up himself, holding her tightly against him before giving her a kiss on the lips. "Mm hi honey."

JJ smiled against Aaron's lips and kissed him again. "Hey you. Airport go ok?"

Aaron nodded, keeping an arm wrapped around JJ. "Yeah, it'd be nice if these two learned to use a washing machine though. Sure would be a lot less luggage…guys, take the bags to your rooms, for crying out loud!" JJ laughed and swatted Aaron's arm, nuzzling closer into his side.

"Don't worry about it, I'm the one that does all the laundry. Guys just put it all the dirty stuff in the laundry room." The two boys flashed their mom a smile before grabbing their bags, taking their dirty cloths to the laundry room, JJ watching the two with a smile on her face. Her boys were finally home.

Aaron, on the other hand, just glared from his position beside his wife. "So you guys listen to your mom but not to me, huh?" JJ just laughed and rolled her eyes as the three boys got into it once again before turning into the kitchen to start on some food.

"Man I love you Mom." Jack leaned back in his kitchen chair, the front legs coming off the ground as he stretched, his very full stomach evident underneath his T-shirt. Henry just groaned his agreement, and Aaron sat back and nodded, his eyes closed in satisfaction.

JJ just chuckled as she took in her boys. Henry chuckled and punched Jack's arm. "Just think, this summer you can have Mom pack you a lunch every day at the Bureau. Aw and the three of you can carpool and eat together and everything! Ouch!" Jack smacked Henry upside the head, the boys laughing at each other. Jack had gotten his internship at the Bureau the previous summer extended for the current summer. Providing everything went well, he'd have a full-time job offer by the time August rolled around.

"Whatever, I get a job at the end of the summer, my graduate school paid for, and Mom's cooking every day. I'm set!"

Henry and JJ both rolled their eyes while Jack and Aaron laughed. JJ gave his hand a squeeze and looked at both of her sons. "Glad to know I can always bride my boys home with my cooking."

The three boys just groaned in response, Aaron eyeing his wife from his seat next to her. "Number one reason I get home in time for dinner now."

JJ smacked his arm as Aaron chuckled and kissed her cheek, the boys still trying to recover from their food-babies. JJ stood and ruffled their hair as she collected the dishes, Jack finally recovering enough to move again. "I'll dry for you Mom."

Aaron stood to help clear the table but Henry jumped up and looked at his dad. "Hey Dad, could I actually talk to you for a second in your office? Mom, is it cool if I borrow Dad or do you and Jack need help?"

JJ grabbed the remaining dishes, waving the two off. "Go right ahead, Jack and I can handle these and you two can do the dinner dishes." She gave Aaron a quick kiss before heading back to the kitchen where Jack had already started the soapy water.

Aaron pushed away from the table, leading the way to his office off the back of the house with his youngest right behind him. Aaron took his normal place behind the dark-wood desk while Henry took his normal spot in the big leather chair on the right side facing the desk. He laughed as he realized he had just instinctually taken his spot. "I remember the day you bought these chairs. Jack preferred being on the left side of the desk when we were both in here, but I liked the chair on the left."

Aaron rolled his eyes, a small smile on his lips as he remembered the incident. "You guys fought for almost an hour before you finally let me just move the damn chair." He chuckled, remembering the millions of times he'd be working on something in here and his boys would be curled up in their respective chairs, both with a book or a videogame or passed out asleep. "As soon as you got your chair on the right side, you two never had another problem. God you two loved keeping me company in here."

Henry smiled, remembering for himself the countless hours he and his older brother spent in the room. He rubbed his hands together, a nervous habit that had developed when Henry was younger. Aaron, still one of the most legendary profilers to pass through the Behavioral Analysis Unit, noticed the behavior in his youngest but didn't push it. He hated profiling the people he loved most, but he had done it for too many years to be able to turn it off. Instead, he noticed the behavior and remained quiet, waiting for Henry to begin the conversation.

Henry knew his dad was secretly profiling him; Aaron had profiled the two boys all through their youth, even if he tried to hide it 90% of the time. He appreciated that his dad didn't push the topic of conversation but instead let Henry put everything in motion. He sighed and placed his hands on his knees, trying to keep from rubbing them together as he stared at his dad across the desk. "Dad I wanted to talk to you about something…kind of important, actually. I sort of decided something at school this semester and I wanted to run it by you and make sure it was ok."

Aaron nodded, trying not to worry about what Henry had decided and so obviously wanted Aaron's approval on. He was never much of worrier outside of his sons; he was usually calm and collected in any situation, but he worried like a force to be reckoned with when it came to his kids.

Henry took another deep breath and laughed to himself as he realized his hands were rubbing together once again. He didn't even remember taking his hands off his knees. "I don't want to be a doctor."

Aaron was a little taken back and it showed on his face. Henry had talked about nothing but medicine and biology all through high school, but his change in career wasn't a big deal at all. Aaron and JJ just wanted their two boys to be happy, no matter what they did. Jack had remained with psychology all four years and had finally decided on a graduate school after talking with Aaron and JJ for the past month. Anyone who had ever met Jack knew he was destined to follow in his father's footsteps, and while JJ had her reservations about sending her son into the work she and his father had done for so many years, he had complete support from both of them. Jack had wanted to be a profiler since Aaron had actually explained to Jack what he did besides "chasing bad guys", and the FBI was anxiously awaiting Jack Hotchner, regardless of the fact that his father was the current Director of the FBI. Aaron had opened some doors for his son, but Jack had truly done all the work himself.

Aaron observed his son sitting across from him for a moment, trying to find any shred of uncertainty but unable to see any. Henry was genuine about his change of heart, even if it did seem to come out of nowhere. "Can I ask why?"

Henry moved his hands back to his legs and willed them to stay there. "I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's not what I want it to be. I like the subject matter, but I don't think a career in the medical field is for me."

Aaron just nodded, understanding that a career choice doesn't always make sense to other people. Everyone had thought he was insane when he decided to leave his job as prosecutor to join the FBI, but he had just known that it was the right choice. "Henry, you know your mom and I are fine with whatever you want to do with your life. We'll support you no matter what."

Henry nodded, his eyes glazing over as he stared off into space. Aaron smiled; Henry had definitely inherited JJ's ability to completely pay attention to a conversation while zoning out the entire time. Jack and Aaron were the two in the family that had to pay attention to the entire conversation or they were absolutely lost. "Henry, what's this all about? Really?"

"Well I've kind of decided on another career path. But I'm worried you won't be thrilled about it, and I really want your approval."

"Henry, as long as you're happy and your job isn't illegal, you know I'll approve. You don't have to worry about that." Henry was still working on looking him in the eye, and Aaron was completely lost as to what Henry could be considering as a career path. Jack was already well into Aaron's footsteps, so it wasn't that he was hoping to join the Bureau or enter into the world of criminal profiling. If it was anything media based he'd be discussing it with JJ, not Aaron. Aaron silently prayed that Henry wasn't considering anything illegal.

Henry was looking at his hands, which he had clasped together in his lap; they were held together so tightly they didn't have the option of moving. Stop being such a pansy, it's just Dad! Henry knew his dad wasn't lying when he said he and Mom would always be proud of him. They had supported him and Jack every second of every day of their lives. Neither he nor his brother had every made a decision without being fully support by both of his parents, even when Henry decided to go to school six hours away. JJ had struggled with letting her baby go so far away, but Aaron had stood squarely behind his son the whole time. Henry was pretty sure his dad was the real reason JJ had finally swallowed her misery and happily sent her son so far away.

Henry smiled, amazed once again that he had gotten to live his entire life as Henry Hotchner. His biological father had bailed on him and his mom when he was only four. He could still remember Will bending down and looking into his eyes, telling him the "daddy was going away, but I'll always love ya, ya know" bullshit as JJ tried to stay strong for her son. That son of a bitch hadn't given anything to him and JJ since he left, except for the one incident. Henry still got angry when he pictured Will trying to squirm his way back into their lives, even though Mom was happily dating Aaron at the time. He had to smile when he remembered the possessive look on his dad's face as he stood between Will and his family, claiming all three of the people behind him as just that: his family. Will LaMontague may have donated the sperm, but Henry was definitely Aaron Hotchner's son.

Henry finally looked up and stared his dad straight in the eye. "I want to go into law." Henry watched the shock and surprise overtake his dad's face before he looked down. "I don't want to be a prosecutor or a criminal lawyer or anything like that. I think all the profiling stuff is cool, but that's definitely Jack's thing, not mine. But I think I can do a lot of good and help a lot of people in my own way. You know?" Henry shut his eyes, his hands clenched tightly together as he waited for something – anything – to break the silence between the two.

Aaron, for his part, just stared at his son, shocked and awed. He was utterly confused as to why Henry would think he wouldn't be supportive of his choice; he was ecstatic that Henry had found what he wanted to do, and he was honored that his son had picked law as a career. He couldn't even think of any words he could say to explain to Henry exactly how proud of him he was.

Henry got too anxious waiting for the silence to break and looked back at Aaron. "Dad, please say something."

Aaron chuckled, completely confused as to why Henry was so damn nervous. "Henry, if law is what you want to do, you know I'll stand behind you 100%."

Henry remained tense but his eyes lost their anxiety. "Really?"

Aaron chuckled again, unable to stop himself. "Of course! Henry, you're my son, I will always be proud and support of you; why would you doubt that?"

Henry chuckled, but it wasn't quite as happy as his dad's had been. "I don't know. I just…you and Mom were so thrilled I wanted to be a doctor, and Jack's never had a second doubt about being a profiler…"

"You thought we'd be disappointed because you haven't finalized what you wanted to do at 18 years old?"

Henry rolled his eyes. "Well when you put it that way." The two shared a smirk. "No, it's just…I know it's fine if I change my major a million times, I know you and Mom will still be proud. As long as it's legal of course." Aaron nodded, both of them chuckling slightly. "I just…it's just that you started out in law and with Jack doing all the profiling stuff…I just didn't want you to think that I was making a mistake, that's all."

Aaron took a minute to stare at his youngest. "Henry, I loved my job as a prosecutor. I didn't leave it because law is a mistake or because I wasn't happy. To this day, I still have moments where I miss my days in a courtroom." Aaron fought against it, but he couldn't stop himself from profiling his son once again. "Are you doing this because Jack's aiming for the BAU someday? Because he's working at the Bureau?"

Henry shrugged. "It's just that he's so set in what he wants to do. He's always known he's going to be a profiler and follow in your footsteps. Hell, everyone how knows Jack knows he's just like you and-"

"Henry you are my son just as much as Jack is." Henry stopped mid-sentence and looked at his dad, who was staring at him as intently as he had ever seen. "I am beyond proud of Jack and everything he's accomplished and everything he's going to accomplish. But God, Henry…I'm just as proud of you and how far you're going to do. I worry about Jack becoming a profiler, I worry about it all the time. I know he can do it and he'll be much better than me, but it doesn't keep me from worrying." Aaron gave Henry a smile. "But I've never worried about you. And you don't have to follow in my footsteps or your mom's footsteps for us to be proud-"

It was Henry's turn to cut his dad off. "I'm not doing it just to follow in your footsteps." Aaron stared hard at Henry but Henry held his ground. "I'm really not. My bioethics class had a special lecturer come in about a month ago who was a medical lawyer. He had his own firm and took on medical review cases, both from patients and doctors. He talked about how rewarding it was to help patients who had been wronged by their doctors or doctors who were being sued for malpractice when they didn't do anything wrong. I spoke to him after class and we've been corresponding lately and he invited me to see a case he was trying like two weeks ago."

Aaron felt his heart swell as he took in the joy that overtook Henry's face. "It was so amazing Dad! He proved the doctor didn't intentionally do any harm and that he had done the absolute best he could and…I just…I just knew that I supposed to do that for the rest of my life. I want to help people, and I think I could really do something with my life."

Henry felt the worry begin to creep back into him. "I just want you to be happy about it Dad. I mean I want Mom to approve too, but you were a prosecutor, I mean you worked in the law for years and…that's part of the reason I'm so excited about this. I like the idea of being able to talk to you about my law classes and having you come to my cases and…I like that it's my own way of following in my dad's footsteps. I just…I don't know, I just thought you wouldn't approve or whatever."

Aaron stood up and moved to the other side of the desk, moving to sit down in Jack's chair as he put a hand on Henry's shoulder. "Henry, I am so proud of you. I don't ever want you to doubt that, not one second of your life. You are my son." Aaron and Henry both took deep breaths, trying to calm the thin layer of moisture that was covering their eyes. "I'm honored every day of my life that you're my son. And it means the world to me that I helped mold you into the man you are. You'll be amazing at whatever you choose, law especially. You mean the world to me, Henry."

Henry smiled at his dad and leaned forward, hugging his dad. "I love you Dad."

Aaron squeezed his son a little tighter. "I love you too Henry. So much."

The two finally pulled apart and smiled at each other, Aaron's hand still on Henry's shoulder. Both their heads turned toward the door as they heard JJ's high pitch "JACK!" followed by Jack's loud and boisterous laugh. Aaron chucked and gave Henry's shoulder a squeeze before standing up. "We better go see what Jack's done to your mom now."

Henry laughed and jumped up, following right beside his dad as they headed to the door. "Twenty bucks he sprayed her with water."

Aaron scoffed, turning to glance at his son. "No way am I taking that bet."